Thanks for the ideas on the ceiling panel. I bounce it around in my head for a bit.... Thinking I may need to use some sort of fiberboard to mount the fabric to in order to keep it from sagging. A bit of spray adhesive and some sort of thin, rigid sound deading material. Kinda like a headliner in a car.

How about rigid foam insulation? Add a layer of Linacoustic, and cover with fabric for looks? Lightweight, cheap, and easy to get.

I was looking for something thin, rigid and easy to work with. I did a Google search for "1/2 Sound Deadening board". I found this stuff... BLUE RIDGE FIBERBOARD

I can see how it would be great in a build for the interior of walls. Just not sure how it would work as a sound deadening panel OUTSIDE of the wall.

I would bevel cut the edges (make it look nicer) and spray it with a headliner adhesive, then wrap the sucker with the DMD fabric and hang it from the ceiling with them "fancy-schmancy" RotoFast hangers...... What'cha think? Would it work or just be a waste?

You can also just mount the acoustic panel/rigid fiberglass to the ceiling using drywall screws and washers and then attach the fabric to the ceiling with a fabric track arranged around it. As long as you are not going thicker than 1", the fabricmate track will work great. Will need to go to QAI or another provider if you want 2". I am in the process of doing my ceiling now (about 3/4 done). I am doing 16 foot long strips of fabric, 60" wide and am having no issues with the fabric sagging. Looks just like it does on the wall, but it is a bit harder to do since it is over your head. Would be a bit more expensive than just wrapping the fabric, but I think it would create a cleaner look.

And, for the record, after doing this to my ceiling, I cannot imagine having a theater without fabric on the ceiling. I am using black FR701 and the ceiling just disappears in the room without the projector on (no mounted yet). Reflection will also be much less than a painted ceiling. I did not do any kind of treatment on the ceiling and it was not recommended by the designer. Mine is just fabric.

You can also just mount the acoustic panel/rigid fiberglass to the ceiling using drywall screws and washers and then attach the fabric to the ceiling with a fabric track arranged around it. As long as you are not going thicker than 1", the fabricmate track will work great. Will need to go to QAI or another provider if you want 2". I am in the process of doing my ceiling now (about 3/4 done). I am doing 16 foot long strips of fabric, 60" wide and am having no issues with the fabric sagging. Looks just like it does on the wall, but it is a bit harder to do since it is over your head. Would be a bit more expensive than just wrapping the fabric, but I think it would create a cleaner look.
And, for the record, after doing this to my ceiling, I cannot imagine having a theater without fabric on the ceiling. I am using black FR701 and the ceiling just disappears in the room without the projector on (no mounted yet). Reflection will also be much less than a painted ceiling. I did not do any kind of treatment on the ceiling and it was not recommended by the designer. Mine is just fabric.
Shan

Sorry for the delay in responding. Holidays...

Thanks for the info. I would love to see a picture of your material ceiling. Maybe I am not understanding,but is you material attached directly to your ceiling?

I was considering using a 4" x 8" sheet of pegboard and backing it with either some of the low-profile carpet or heavyweight hardwood underlayment I still have. Then wrapping it with more fabric and attach it to the ceiling. From the ceiling it would be... PAD... PEGBOARD.... FABRIC.

I read that pegboard really isn't sonically any "brighter" than drywall. In fact, it is supposed to have somewhat of a diffusing effect and LFE filtering. Figure the pad would absorb /control what sounds get through.

Here is a shot of the ceiling. The flash is on because, with it off, the ceiling disappears. During a movie, there is minimal reflection...much less than "Mouse Ears" flat paint. My whole goal here was to minimize reflection and not draw any attention to the ceiling...this works great for that and it is relatively easy to do.

Sadly no, with the onset of 2013 I have been running like a mad man. Only to briefly stop and occasionally enjoy the Theater as it is.Which is approx 98% there. Just a couple of items still hanging around.

1. Finish the crown. I plan on painting the crown black and hang it approx 1/2" from the ceiling with LED strip lights behind it. Figure the 1/2" would provide enough "glow" and be close enough that a gap would not be noticeable in the day.

2. The equipment closet door. Need to finish it off to offer soundproofing and sound absorption. I currently have a layer of MLV hanging on the door, and if does a decent job for just 1 layer. Need a rigid board with very good sound absorption properties. Fabricmate has a product called recore, it looks like something that would work for my needs, but it is expensive. Looking for an alternative.

This is like reading a good book, only to find that there is no ending! Great job on everything so far. Any updates to report?

LOL... excellent point. I did kinda drop the ball on the final wrap up. Work and life kinda got me sideways.

Not MUCH to report, other than tweaking the speakers a bit and some finishing touches (trim, paint touch-up, etc), nothing MAJOR different...

Let's see....
My movie collection continues to grow. Had to add another NAS box to the offering. Apparently, I was a "good boy" and Santa got me the hook up...

After playing around with the LED strip lights, I embarked upon another endeavor with them.
I had a roof leak in another room that required a major undertaking, both on the roof and ripping out a wall. Mold remediation and replacement of carpeting. With the change out of the carpet, I decided to pull the trigger and get rid of the carpet on the staircase and replace it with pre-finished hardwood tread from http://www.stair-treads.com/. Pretty nice too. They use Aluminum Oxide as the finish instead of polyurethane, so it is not slick and has a 10x wear rating over Poly.

Ripping the carpeting

It is SUPPOSED to be as easy and rip the carpet up and install the retro treads, but EVERY step was warped so I had to replace them ALL. You can see the bottom 2 are new...

Stair and risers installed, and LED strip lights attached to a photo-eye. Ta-Da!

Finishing touches in the Equipment closet. Had some hardwood flooring left over from the upstairs hallway. Put it into the closet and finished the baseboard....

Different angles...

For the most part, the project is done. The only thing left to do is hang the crown molding (which I already have). I am debating if I want to mount it wall/ceiling flush or leave approx 1/2" off the ceiling and add another run of LED strip lights behind it for the indirect illumination off the ceiling.... Hmmmmmm...

For the most part, it does EVERYTHING that I want it to. Plays darn near everything I throw at it, and WD keeps it fairly up to date with firmware updates. The most recent update supports DTS-MA passthrough!

The build is "Bang for the Buck" because that what I was going after. It has been officially changed to the Merlin Theater in honor of my 1st cat that I got when I moved out on my own in college and stayed with me for 18 years! He was my 1st, hardcore movie watching buddy.

I made a wallpaper background for the theater for him the other day (The eyes are his actual eyes. I found a cool, direct shot picture and Photoshopped everything else out besides the eyes and a faint smidgen of his face):

So do you just have those NAS's on your network or are they connected to a PC that's in the network? What are you using to serve up the files from them, xbmc?

NAS boxes are connected directly to the network and the WDTV Streaming box reads network attached devices. The WDTV will/can scan for ALL videos, music, picture OR specific folders can be selected to build your media library. The WD box is not as broad and deep as a xbmc PC, but is is surprisingly nimble and plays darn near everything I throw at it. The WDTV Streaming boxes are inexpensive too. I have 4 in the house in different rooms and picked 2 of the up on eBay for $59 each manufacture refurb.

Looks like you did a great job! Question on your soundproofing... My eventual space is also over my garage with only one wall adjacent to the rest of my house (the other 3 are exterior). Did soundproofing only the one wall work? I'm a bit nervous about only doing my one wall, for fear that my neighbors will be bothered if I don't do all 4 walls and a Serenity mat for the floor. Thoughts?

Looks like you did a great job! Question on your soundproofing... My eventual space is also over my garage with only one wall adjacent to the rest of my house (the other 3 are exterior). Did soundproofing only the one wall work? I'm a bit nervous about only doing my one wall, for fear that my neighbors will be bothered if I don't do all 4 walls and a Serenity mat for the floor. Thoughts?

Neighbors?!? Just invite them over...LOL!

Seriously, how close are your neighbors?
Mine are probably about 100 ft away, but even the sound outside in the driveway is less than street traffic.

Talking to my wife, she can't hear "too" much sound, even when it is CRANKED. Most likely it is mega bass rolling via the floor (most likely).

Overall it worked VERY well. I took dB samples before and after construction... HUGE difference. If I had to make some changes to what I did...
1. Go with the HEAVY drywall, stay away from the "lightweight" crap most commonly found at your local hardware store.
2. I would (still need) to add bass traps to the back of the room. I have a crap load up front, but never added any to the rear where the ceiling slopes with the roof I I'm sure bass "pools" up back there. Maybe if I did it would cut down on the excess bass my wife hears. This may be fixed with your Serenity mat idea.